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Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 92, no. 2375]: September 20, 1913

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REAL ESTATE BUILDERS AND NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 20, 1913 pillllllilillllllilllillllilllM^^^^^^^ lllllllllliiilllllllilllllllllllB OWNERS' OBJECTIONS TO BUILDING CODE Cannot See the Need of Fire Towers For Office Buildings and Hotels — Re¬ duction of Wood Trim Would Stop Construction of 12-Story Apartments. il"! liailllllBIBIIiMI Till'; .il)jcctions which the .\llied Real Estate Interests have raised to the amended building code that is now the subject of revision by the Building Com¬ mittee of the Board of Aldermen for the most part break into new ground. Special importance attaches to the ob¬ jections also because they express the views of the parties most directly affect¬ ed by the new regulations, namely, the owners and builders. From the brief which President Allan Robinson of the Allied Interests has sub¬ mitted to Chairman Herbst of the com¬ mittee it is learned that the opinion is held that the requirement in the amended code for tower stairways in office build¬ ings and hotels is unnecessary. The floor spaces in such buildings are divided into so many small units by fireproof partitions that the spread of flames and smoke is prevented; and, besides, the number of persons usually occupying a given area in any building of either type is less than half the number to be found occupying a similar amount of space in a loft or factory building. While it is not denied that tower stair¬ ways may be necessary for manufactur¬ ing Ijuildings, it is said to be obvious that they should not be required for olfice buildings and hotels. The Herbst code specifies that "every building" more than one hundred feet in height shall have a tower stairway. Required Number of Exits. The number and width of stairways required in a building is to be determined from the number of persons occupying a floor computed on the basis of each full twenty-two inches of stairway, ex¬ cepting that in any building where a system of automatic sprinklers is in¬ stalled the number and width of stair¬ ways may be computed upon the basis of twenty-one persons for each twenty- two inches of width of stairway; and excepting that when horizontal exits are provided the number and width of re¬ quired stairways for floor areas above the first floor may be diminished to a certain point on the basis of fifty per¬ sons for each twenty-two inches of width of horizontal exit. The argument made against fire tow¬ ers being demanded for office buildings and hotels, and outlined above, is also held by the .'Mlied Interests to be applic¬ able against this requirement for stair¬ way widths. While the basis of computation might be on the safe side for factories, it would be absurd to make the same regulation apply to hotels and office buildings. "It will further be noted that no al¬ lowance is made for elevators as exits. The popular agitation regarding fire ex¬ its and stairs has been brought about by conflagration and disasters in fac¬ tories and industrial buildings, but no fatalities due to fires in office buildings or hotels have occurred in buildings where the standard of the building has been up to or approximately near the present requirements of the code as to fireproofing. "The higher average intelligence of the occupants of office buildings and hotels should be considered as against that of the occupants of manufacturing buildings and factories. "The chief cause of disasters in fac¬ tories has been due to panic and to the fact that the passages and spaces are obstructed or locked, whereas in hotels and offices halls and corridors are well defined and are always kept clear. Elevators Should Be Considered. "Elevators in these buildings should be considered as means of exit, particu¬ larly in view of the proposed amend¬ ment to the code, permitting not more than two elevators in one shaft. The testimony of fire-fighters has been that the majority of people escape from fire¬ proof buildings by means of the ele¬ vators, and that the stairs are used only as the last resort and after most of the occupants of the building have fled. "We have made some investigation along the line of the number of occu¬ pants in office buildings and find as fol¬ lows: The average space per occupant in general offices is about 100 square feet, and in a number of cases even as low as 75 square feet per occupant with¬ out undue congestion. Mr. R. P. Bolton quotes a table in his book on elevators: Stock Brokers' Exchange firms, of 1 to 100 square feet; shipping, railroad and draughtsmen. 1 to 105; lawyers and small offices. 1 to 110; city departments, public offices and insurance offices, 1 to 115; banks and large corporations, 1 to 120; real estate and general business, 1 to 125. "If the proposed clauses above men¬ tioned should become law the effect would be ruinous to office buildings and hotels. "We suggest that Sections 18 and 19 be amended by differentiating office buildings and hotels, that the number of stairways and their width for such build¬ ings be based on entirely different figures from that of factories and other manufacturin.g buildings, and that ele¬ vators where not more than two in a shaft and are separated from stairways by fireproof partitions and doors, be considered in part at least as means of exits. Fire Areas and Fire Walls. "We further su.ggest that office build¬ ings and hotels be divided into fire zones or areas of 7.500 square feet each, divided hy fire walls; that openings in fire walls shall be equipped with auto¬ matic closing fire doors, and that one stairway be required for each zone area. "This, we believe, would give fire pro¬ tection to the occupants of hotels and office buildings greatly superior to any¬ thing proposed, and yet would not con¬ fiscate rentable space, and would require only a rea'sonable number of stairways in a building. The number of stairways in a building of great height, such as the Woolworth Building, might possibly have to be increased. This should be considered by your committee, but the general principle of fire zones with ver¬ tical stops makes a building fireproof and panic-proof and should be incor¬ porated in the code. At the present time the new Factory Law requires just such vertical stops and fire zones in factory buildings." Under the amended code no woodwork or other combustible material may be used in the construction of any fireproof building when it exceeds one hundred feet in height. The Allied Interests advise that this section (103) be changed to read as follows: "No material which is combustible when finally installed shall be used in constructing any fireproof building, except that when the height of the building does not exceed 150 feet, wooden floors and their sleepers, and the grounds, bucks, nailing blocks, doors, window-frames and sashes with their jambs, trim and casings, kitchen and pantry dressers, shelving, ward¬ robes, ice boxes, floor base and wain¬ scot and all wall moulding of non-fireproof material may be permit¬ ted, except that the total aggregate vertical section of wooden wainscot, chair rail and wood cornice shall not be greater than one-quarter the hei.ght of the room in which it is installed." Will Increase Costs Excessively. The reasons assigned for the proposed change are that the new code as drawn will increase the cost of buildings be¬ yond all proportion to the benefits to be derived therefrom: ".'\s under the Tenement House Law a building may be erected to a height only one and one-half times the width of the street; the excess cost involved in build¬ ing over 100 feet high would mean that very few, if any, twelve-story buildings would be built on avenues and corners, but that the owners would, instead, choose side street lots where they could build nine-story buildings to a height of 90 feet and come under the less stringent provisions. "We believe it very desirable to have avenues and corners improved with buildin,gs of this size rather than side streets, and any legislation tending to retard the improvement of avenue and corner lots would inevitably have the effect of reducing market values and in time assessed valuations throughout the city. (Continued on page 536.)